Tuning Out
by Faia Hae
Summary: Carlos knew he was in for crazy when he chose Nightvale University. Cult schools in the middle of nowhere, that he could handle. But..he might be in over his head this time.
1. Intro

_Congratulations!_  
 _Run screaming from your mailbox, whether in fear or ecstasy no one is quite sure._  
 _Welcome to the college of sciences at Nightvale University_

 _Your application was met with approval, and tears. Tears of joy, and of terrible, terrible loss._  
 _We look forward to meeting you at our orientation day! further information will follow. Eat this letter. It is nutritious, we swear._  
 _It is ritual._  
 _Eat it._  
 _Envelope and all._

"Carlos, you know we support you no matter what you choose to do. I just don't know if this..." Mr. Durante glanced at the strange letter on the table. "This... NVU is the right place."

The heavyset spanish man was leaning against the table across from his son. His dark eyebrows were a stormcloud over his eyes. Stern. But not angry- just very, very confused.

His son met his gaze, steady and sure. As always.

"Papa, I know it's no Oxford. But we couldn't afford Ivy league, and Nightvale is the most scientifically interesting place in the US!...even if it is a rechristened Midway. They've just opened their science program, it's like a sign!"

"Mi hijo-" His mom came out of the kitchen, pulling off her oven mitts and putting her hands on her hips. "That place _es loco._ Some kind of crazy cult school. And you want to go? Ai. Carlos-"

"Mama. _Sera lo mejor._ You know we can't afford anywhere else. Not with papa's care. You have to think of Nina. She'll need to go to college too, sooner then you think. And it's not so bad- 100% retention rate, and _Mama-_ the research! There's so much there! And full lab setup and use, all new! It's a lot of opportunity Mama, and they guarantee work study." Carlos was trying to hide his excitement. Be rational. Be scientific.

"Scientifcally speaking, it is the best option. I'll make more in work study then it cost to go there- even if I have to-" he looked down at his acceptance letter and swallowed.

"-Sacrifice a few chickens to the omnipotence of the council-"

Carlos's mother threw her hands in the air, nearly dislodging her bun with the shake she gave her head.

" _LOCO!"_

"Papa-" Carlos looked up, pleading. His father met his gaze. Words passed unspoken. Carlos would be the first in his family to go to college. He'd been accepted to all the Ivy league schools. Everything had been set, but then….Mr. Durante had gotten sick. The bills got higher and higher. Cancer was not an easy thing to pay for. And Nina still needed to go to school. Financial aid was no longer enough. Then came the strange acceptance from a school Carlos wasn't even sure he'd applied to- paid for a pittance, tinfoil, and some dead chickens.

"Carlos. You know what you are doing."

"Yes Papa."

"Then go, hijo. You can always transfer."


	2. Welcome to NVU

Carlos arrived by boat at the actually fairly big atoll that looked nothing like Midway. It actually looked like someone had nuked everything around Honolulu and left the city itself in the middle of the ocean, with mixed color sand in concrete gray, black, white, and the more normal dull yellow riding around it in wide circles. He was glad to be off the ferry- it had been a long ride in the rickety thing. Carlos hadn't had occasion to realize before but he knew now- he did not like boats. He did not like sleeping in boats. He did not like the smell of boats, or fish, even if the species had gotten stranger and more fascinating as they neared what he had assumed, apparently incorrectly, to be Midway. While the other members of his new graduating class spent their time on deck drinking pina coladas and taking advantage of the rather lax captain and international waters Carlos had been propped up in a chair, only above deck to minimize the rocking and plead with the captain to avoid rough water. The other students hadn't approached him, laughing at his attempts at dignity and making bets about whether or not he'd puke in the ocean or hit the side of the ferry. Thus far, the latter was winning- much to the captain's horror. Eventually he gave up and stayed in his room with a trashcan and a bag full of Pepto packets. He swore to himself as he looked out the window that he'd petition to get a helicopter ride back home- the things were in the air nearly constantly as they neared Nightvale. Some Black, some blue, some yellow with weird bird pictures….

But here he finally was, late as it was. It must have been 1 or 2 in the morning? Jetlag was weird on boat time. He looked up at the sky as people filed past him, trying to decide- scientifically- whether or not he was hallucinating the weird colored lights above him. And was that an arbys? Right on the beach? This felt very mainland America. It wasn't until the ferry was pulling away and leaving him alone at the end of the dock that he started forward. There was a board at the end of the dock- looking very lonely at the end of the beach- with one of those mounted speakers on it- the kind generally reserved for emergency bulletins. Only… this one was playing a radio show. Odd. He looked at the clipboard and half listened to the announcements. The board was interesting- there was a helicopter guide with cheerful captions in a spidery handwriting next to the three helicopters he'd seen thus far.

 _World government! Take the freshman on indoor tours, and use the tunnels to get to classes._

 _Campus police! All clear here folks, remember to give up any freshman they need to reeducate. The mainland is a scary and deceiving place. Deceit will not be tolerated._

Next to the yellow patterned helicopter were several scratched out lines and the decidedly less cheery _Wait for the carnation. You will be safe indoors. Soundproof the doors. All of them. It is the law._

Carlos blinked. He'd known the school was odd- but this-

 _A commercial airliner flying through local airspace disappeared today, only to reappear in the gymnasium during basketball practice, disrupting practice quite badly. The jet roared through the gym for only a fraction of a second, and before it could strike any players or structure, it vanished again...this time, apparently, for good._

 _What?_

Carlos looked up at the speaker in bewilderment, leaning on his suitcase.

 _And now, Community Calender. It's welcoming day! So everyone go out and stare down the new freshman. Stare at them. Stare until they start to wonder if something is off- like acne, or an extra eye. Stare until their soul is visible in their eyes, until the begging begins- who are you, what do you want from me. Don't worry freshman. New limbs usually wait a few months, and your soul is no less visible then it is in that nervous smile of yours! Welcome to NVU. I'm sure you'll like it here. I'm Cecil. I'm sure we'll be very close. VERY close, Indeed._

 _WHAT?_

He looked back at the board. His eyes swam- none of it made any sense. There was an outline of a dog with a cartoonish questionmark in the middle and the caption- in that same handwriting- _Barks Ennui says "Citizens be alert! But not too alert, there is much that you should not see. Only you can prevent your dorm room and everyone you love mysteriously catching fire. Woof, woof!"_ His eyes fell on a friendly looking purple sign in the middle with three rectangles- an eye, a mouth, and a bottle. _"_ _If you see something, say nothing. And drink to forget."_

Carlos needed a minute. Maybe an hour. God maybe he should have taken a gap. Used the money from his lab internships and gone to Europe. Yeah. Europe. That would have been nice. Maybe Italy.

His panic was interrupted by a figure in a leather balaclava and- a cape? God could this day get any stranger- approaching him. The voice sounded female.

"Are you Carlos Diego Fernandez Durante?" He winced visibly. That was simply inefficient.

"Yes. I'm Carlos Durante."

"You were expected in the OT dorm for mandatory introductions 20 minutes ago. You have missed your tram, so you will have to give your introduction in the RC Auditorium." She figured if he liked abbreviating things so much, he should get used to campus slang easily enough. She looked him up and down.

"Major?"

Carlos blanked.

"S-Science." She handed him a labcoat.

"Mandatory for all science majors. Put it on, and we're going to the podium."

She covered his mouth with a rag, and he woke up being walked into the auditorium full of students- most of whom were upperclassmen holding notebooks or iphones. Or was he being dragged? It didn't matter. He had to say something. He must be in shock, he rationalized. He must have just blanked out. There was no way they could drag him in here without anyone thinking it was odd. He must have walked. He smiled. This was fine. He knew why he'd come here.

"I'm Carlos. This is the most scientifically interesting college in the US, By far. I've come to figure out just what is going on here! I look forward to getting to know you all." He smiled. The crowd was smiling back. Everything was going to be fine, except that he thought he might be about to pass out, and as the crowd starts to leave he left the place at a sprint, only to find himself on the edge of a canyon. RC. R- canyon?

It wasn't that deep, but it had odd lights in it. He sat down hard on the ground, looking up at the moon. What a night. Mama and Papa really hadn't warned him properly what college was going to be like. On the breeze he could hear the radio coming from the auditorium.

 _...just_ _what_ _was going on around here! He grinned, and everything about him was perfect._

 _And I fell in love_ _instantly_ _.."_

"...no way." He shook his head. Was that a quote from the speech he'd just given? Did the radio announcer…? no. _No._ not a chance. What a weird coincidence. He looked down at the lights in the canyon again. It was a beautiful night.

"...Where am I?"

"Radon Canyon, honey. Are you lost?" He looked up, and met the smiling eyes of an old lady. She looked fairly active, but her silver hair gave away her age.

"Um. Scientifically speaking- I mean, technically, rationally-"

"Oh sweetheart. You're OT right?"

"...Yes."

"I'm your dorm mom. I'm Josie. Or, Old woman Josie if you like to draw things out. Come come, have a muffin, and we'll get you home." She offered him a muffin that proved to be good, but lacked salt. He didn't mind, and followed her as she led him to the bus stop and showed him the campus map, point out the OT dorm ( _Old town_ he noted) as well as the science building and a few more places-

The library _(very dangerous. Not a good place to study)_ Big Ricos (mandatory pizza?), and the radio station, where she said he might be spending time further on. She answered his confusion with a wink, and he was left to try to figure out why this place kept throwing curveball after curveball. He followed Josie out of the bus and was faced with a dorm that looked more like a colonial style mansion. Actually, all the buildings looked pretty colonial- shopfronts in carved stone and white paint all hudded together with their hanging flowers species Carlos had never seen before, and some he had- but much bigger...and was that dragonsnap looking at him?

There was music playing from somewhere, making everying feel dreamy and strange. Carlos adjusted the sleeves of his labcoat as Josie stepped ahead of him and opened the door to the dorm- letting him into a large friendly space with staircases leading up on either side. He took it in- the projector screen with a beam apparently coming from a space above his head, the huge wraparound couch with a few sleepy students on it. The music was still playing. Josie was explaining that this building used to be for the principal and his favorites, but it had been sitting empty since the principal died mysteriously and horribly.

"...now its the science dorm. He used to do the radio!" She told him. "Old friend. Really tragic what happened. Horrible." She stared absently off into to space.

"All that blood..."

"Miss Josie, sorry, but It's getting pretty late." Carlos was sure he'd have nightmares already, and really wasn't interested in adding more fuel to the fire.

"Scientifically speaking, a human needs 8 hours at sleep to function at top efficiency. 6 at minimum. And it's...what time is it?"

"Midnight dearie. Sorry to distract you. Here's your room key." Carlos was still silently mouthing _midnight?_ as Josie handed him the key and gave him a guiding push in the direction of the right stairwell. He passed the kitchen, dismissing the hallucination of 7 foot tall beings with wings as he walked up the stairs. His door had a pretty broze emblem with the taurus symbol on it. Well that was nice. He supposed. Really it was just something else strange. Normally he'd be fascinated, but he was just tired. His boxes were already in the room, and he ignored them and dropped the suitcase on the floor as he hit the bed. He fell asleep on the bare mattress in his labcoat, glasses falling askew as the voice on the radio finished- saying

" _Goodnight Nightvale. Goodnight."_


	3. Scientifically Speaking

Carlos woke up with the sun in a lazy puddle around his head. A lazy, molten puddle. Why was it so hot…? He sat up, bleary, and looked around at the boxes. Right. He had to unpack today. He'd get to visit the lab too- he was definitely looking forward to that. Science, at last.

He climbed up and stretched, Shedding the labcoat and hanging it next to the door. He unpacked quickly and efficiently, thanks to the strictly labeled boxes. As the boxes cleared he noticed that the other side of the room was still empty- but there was a bed and another desk. Of course- a room this size he'd have a roommate. He hoped they loved science. ...And he prayed they weren't conservative, or it might be a celibate year.

But that's not a scientific thought. He scolded himself. He was not here to meet boys. He was here for science! To study natural phenomena. He was zoned out as he unpacked on autopilot- New species, geology for the beach sand- the lights in the sky and the canyon-…

He found himself thinking about that radio announcer. He'd probably know about the phenomena. That voice… Carlos was getting distracted, putting up posters on autopilot and not thinking till after everything was up that maybe " _May the F=MA be with you"_ would be a bit nerdier then he wanted to show himself to be. He'd have to have his roommate sign a waver. He looked at the "I knew you were tribbles when you walked in" poster. Yup. Waver. Someone came up the stairs as he put the boxes in the hallway, following the odd instructions to mark them with a blue dot and whistle three times.

"Hey, are you Carlos?" Carlos looked up at the...girl? Seeing the confusion on Carlos's face the person reddened and mussed their hair.

"I'm Joel. Joel Eisenburg. I'm going to be your roommate. If that's alright with you. The council decreed and said it'd be fine but-" _He._ Carlos noted.

"No issues here, so long as you sign this waver..."

Joel and Carlos hit it off just fine. Joel was an expert on flying dinosaurs, and the two compared notes on the sightings reported in the NVU incidents report- which contained everything from dinosaurs to grim reaper like figures, to radiation statistics that made Carlos want to pass out and...what the hell are throat spiders?!

"This can't be real." Carlos was genuinely in awe. Some of this stuff was an almost impossibility. He was a scientist, he accepted that anything was possible, and therefore according to that proof nothing was a statistic impossibility, but this-

Joel was leaning forward, palms flat on the table.

"Did you see the death stats? man. I guess 100% retention doesn't count for mortality. But I gotta say I think it's worth it if even a quarter of this stuff is true." Carlos nodded. He was looking at the seismograph. Earthquakes. Earthquakes they couldn't feel.

Suddenly, a familiar music started to play.

 _A friendly college community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome to Night Vale._

Carlos settled back into his chair to listen in earnest. They'd set up a conference and notes table in the middle of the room. For science. The desks were for piles of papers. Joel grinned.

"Wait a minute, did you give an intro in the conference hall yesterday?"

"...Yeah?"

 _We received a press release this morning: "The Night Vale business association is proud to announce the opening of the brand-new Night Vale Harbor and Waterfront Recreation Area!" I have been to these facilities myself recently, on their invitation, and I can tell you that it is absolutely top-of-the-line and beautiful! Sturdy docking areas made from eco-friendly post-consumer material, a boardwalk for pedestrians, and plenty of stands ready for local food vendors and merchants to turn into a bustling public marketplace_

"Did you catch the broadcast after?"

"A bit of it. Something about some guy."

Joel leaned back.

"You don't know. Oh god."

 _"Guns don't kill people! It's impossible to be killed by a gun; we are all invincible to bullets, and it's a miracle!"_

Carlos looked over at the radio "what-"

"wait, Carlos-"

He looked back. Joel looked ecstatic.

"He was talking about you yesterday."

 _A great howling was heard from the Night Vale post office yesterday. Postal workers claim no knowledge, although passers-by describe the sound as being a little like a human soul being destroyed through black magic. The Indian tracker...now, I don't know if you've seen this guy around; he's the one that appears to be of, maybe,_ _Slavic_ _origin? Yet he wears a headdress out of some racist cartoon and claims to be able to read tracks on_ _asphalt_ _..._ _he_ _appeared on the scene and swore that he would discover the truth. No one responded because it's really hard to take him seriously in that headdress of his._

"I feel like I should be paying attention to this-"

"Carlos, that radio host has a serious thing for you."

He looked back at Joel again.

"No he doesn't. We've never met."

"You don't believe me?"

 _The council would like to remind you about the tiered heavens and the hierarchy of angels. The reminder is that you should not know anything about this. The structure of heaven and the angelic organizational chart are privileged information, known only to the council members on a need-to-know basis. Please, do not speak to or acknowledge any angels you may come across while shopping at the Ralph's, or at the Desert Flower Arcade Bowling Alley and Fun Complex. They only tell lies, and do not exist. Report all angel sightings to the city council for treatment._

That silenced Joel. They both stared at the radio.

"...The hell?"

"Scientifically speaking-" Carlos remembered the winged creatures in the kitchen, and faltered.

"Scientifically speaking matters of faith are best left to those who study faith."

"Agreed."

 _Settling in to be another clear night and pretty evening here in Night Vale. I hope all of you out there have someone to sleep through it with._

 _Or at least good memories of when you did._

 _...Goodnight, listeners. Goodnight._

Carlos looked out the window in confusion. The sun had already set.

"What? That's not right-" he looked at the wall clock. He looked at his school issued watch. He grabbed joel's wrist and checked his.

"What is it?"

"The sun didn't set at the right time. Off by 10 minutes at least. Maybe 20."

"Dears! It's time for dinner! Mealcards will work at Big Rico's and the Moonlite all-night. 200 a semester for groceries at Ralphs." Josie was calling up the stairs.

"I think Big Rico's is fine for tonight." Carlos called down. He headed down, donning the labcoat on an impulse. As he reached the door he noted a corkboard next to it. Dorm rules, more of the stuff from the dock, and a daily proverb reading.

" _look to the north. Keep looking. There's nothing coming from the south."_

there was also a new dog park ad, and a reminder that no mammals were allowed as pets on campus.

Carlos added that to a list of things to look into, as he and Joel headed out the door toward Big Rico's.

It was packed- which surprised Carlos given that school didn't really start for another couple months. Surely people left campus for the summer? He was only here because the housing was free and he wanted to take the burden off his parents. All these people…?

A few looked up at him and giggled. He ignored them, assuming word of the seasickness must have gotten out, and picked a table on the back patio. He was surprised to find that Big Rico's was on the ocean. The seats were more spread out back here, which he appreciated. He noticed that the buildings on either side were darkened. All the better. Less people around. But….

On a bench on the beach was a boy. Looked like an upperclassmen, mature, with elaborate sleeve tattoos and a tattoo of a closed eye on his forehead. His hair was a spectrum of blonde- every shade under that classification, and his eyes were violet. He was beautiful, on a stone bench watching the ocean.

Carlos didn't notice the pizza even as the smell reached his nose. The guy looked lonely. Bitterly lonely, a vision in blue and purple in the dark and neon of big rico's. He didn't notice his own pizza till the waiter took the boy his.

"...Oh." Carlos took a bite, feeling self conscious.

"Carlos. Head in the game. We need to get a team set up before school starts out. For experiments, you know we can start off the year with a huge data bank-"

"Oh yes. The data is vital, absolutely vital. But um, right now, I- I mean- I think I should investigate- for the sake of science- and the study of the psychological makeup of a cult oriented campus-"

"I'm going to take my pizza home, best of luck man."

Joel patted Carlos on the shoulder and walked out (or rather, into Big Rico's to go out, scientifically speaking…)

Carlos picked up his pizza and stood, ignoring the curious stares of the people around. He walked closer, and noticed the boy was….crying? Oh God he was crying. He should be left alone, scientifically people are statistically more likely to want to be left alone when they're crying-

He looked up, and recognition flashed in his face.

"Carlos?" the voice was like honey and exotic spices.

"You know me?" Carlos was stunned, the boy's tears forgotten.

"Of course. We are all required to view the freshman shaming."

"...oh."

"And you are..." He blushed. "...neat! I'm very into science." Carlos was still trying to place that voice. Where had he heard it before?

"Oh, are you in the school of sciences?"

the boy gave him an odd look.

"I'm a communications major. The voice of Nightvale must be, after all."

Oh god, the radio! The odd boy from the radio! The one- Carlos reddened.

"Oh, of course. The radio host must, scientifically speaking, be well versed in communications. It is essential."

"of course."

they stood in silence for a second, then the boy slid over and patted the bench.

"So… can you tell me about any of your scientific research? After all, you did say we were the most scientifically interesting University in the US..."


	4. Hurricane

"Carlos. Carlos wake up. Carlos there is a giant glowing cloud off the west coast. CARLOS."

the daylight filtered in slow, and Carlos woke up by degrees. Joel's sharp features were made even sharper in clarity, as he was about a foot away from Carlos's face.

"..whh-?"

There was a knock on the door. Joel faded from the half moon of Carlos's barely waking vision. He returned accompanied by the smell of coffee.

"someone left coffee at the door. It's...red...but other then that it seems pretty normal."

Carlos looked down at the coffee. It wasn't quite a blood red, more of the color of red velvet cake. He takes a slow, experimental sip. Red velvet coffee. Huh.

He doesn't have much time to consider this, however, as Joel had retreated into the blur of the other side of the room and seemed to be throwing things. Then it registered.

"Glowing cloud…?"

"It's small but getting bigger. John peters- you know, the farmer? The one that stocks the grocery?- said it's whistling."

"Whistling."

"Yes."

"Maybe it's high pitched thunder distortion… something in the chemical makeup affecting density and the transmission of sound.." Carlos was half out of bed by the time he finished his sentence, moving to the dresser. He stopped, looking down at his wardrobe with the drawer open.

"...Temperature and climatic conditions on the beach?"

Joel gave him a strange look.

"humidity in the 80 percentile range. Temperatures in the high 90s. Carlos, it's july on the equator."

"...so no suits."

"Carlos. Shorts and a tshirt."

"But professionalism-"

"No one will be out at the beach when we reach it."

"but-"

"Do you need to borrow my clothes?"

"…."

Carlos reached the beach in borrowed shorts and a print Tshirt in Joel's Jurassic park Jeep Rangler. He had resisted asking how much the car cost or how it'd made it to the island. His labcoat flapped in the breeze behind him as they roared along the coast towards the fuzzy shape. Carlos had forgotten his glasses. He was clutching a clipboard.

"Current color and shift time?"

"violet, heading towards red. Fully changed in 2.3 seconds. Video's recording. The time is 11:56 am, the air temperature is 96.3 degrees and the humidity is 78.76% and climbing the closer we get to the cloud. The geiger counter is going crazy. High radiation area."

Carlos wrote furiously with a university approved mechanical pencil that appeared to be carved out of bone. It didn't matter. He'd chemically test it later- right now- the cloud. It was moving ashore, slowly enough, but they were struggling to find a high enough elevation on the beach to take readings with the thing moving.

"The density looks a lot higher then it should be- Carlos I don't like this- Carlos what are you-"

Carlos was standing in his seat as they climbed a dune, holding a metal rod upwards." The whistling was getting louder the closer they got.

"Getting a reading!"

"CARLOS-"

THUD

Carlos woke up, head pounding. His face felt raw, like something rough and heavy had slammed into him. He touched his face and pulled his hand back. Was that fur?

He was alone. The radio was playing from the side table, and Carlos decided to just lay down and listen.

Cecil's voice was sweet as always as he talked about the cloud..raining dead animals. Oh god. Carlos groaned, suddenly vividly aware of why he was in the- he looked around- ER. He was in the goddamn ER. With fur and blood on his face.

This was a strange school.

He looked up as a door opened. It was Joel, grinning.

"We have a new lab member Carlos. They've read your work and were very impressed. So I guess you're in charge."

Carlos was a little hazy.

"How long have I been out?"

"Oh, couple hours."

"What happened to the-"

" _HAIL THE GLOW CLOUD. AND NOW I BRING YOU, SERVANTS OF THE CLOUD-"_

Carlos went rigid, and everything went black and white and blue and violet and- vanilla….?

He had no memory of anything since he woke up. He had fur and blood on his face. Thankfully, he still had his readings.

"I think we should go out tonight."

Carlos looked up from chemical testing a bottled sample Joel had managed to get from the cloud. It was yelling, furious, it's tiny high pitched voice demanding justice, justice and bloodshed.

"We have to go out. We don't have any food in the room."

Joel kept a straight face, with some effort.

"Some people go out and find alcohol and meet people, Carlos."

"Oh. That." he looked back down at his clipboard and radiation tested the angry cloud.

"Not interested."

"Oh come on Carlos-"

"Absolutely not interested."

"Cecil goes out."

Carlos's non-pen pauses, but he doesn't look up. He's trying to be nonchalant.

"How do you know that? And that's awfully vague." comforted, he starts writing again.

"He goes to the Sigma Epsilon, or just "See" fraternity every weekend. He's not a member but apparently he gets along really well with everyone there."

Carlos's hand stopped moving again, trying to think of a reason to refuse.

"You said yourself we should get more data." skritch goes the bone pen.  
Joel tried to look innocent.

"We can meet new people. People who are into science."

"Didn't you say we already had a new person?"

"She's the secretary at See. You can meet her."

"didn't you say it was a frat?"

"Nightvale doesn't believe in concepts like binding gender obligations."

"Oh."

Carlos continues, having settled himself.

"You provide- what's it called- "pregame" and I'll think about it."

Two hours later Carlos is a little bit past tipsy, holding a bottle of tequila in one hand and a flask in the other. He's trying to convince Joel to hold a funnel steady as he pours, but they're both a little splashed by the time the flask is full. It's a university flask- the cheerful slogan involving what you should do if you see something printed on it. Carlos thinks that's a lot funnier then he should. Half of the spills were from giggles. Joel, infinitely patient, guides Carlos out past josie and some rather dissaproving looking beings with wings and into the street. The Fraternity takes a while to reach, probably less from actual distance and more from loss of orientation. Carlos, who Joel is beginning to realize has never ACTUALLY been drunk before, is excitedly analyzing the blur of motor function and reaction speed. Being as none of that is even slightly about dinosaurs, Joel's grateful when they find the row of houses and the river of music drowns out the excitement. But Carlos quiets on his own when they approach the See house- an actually pretty nice log cabin with a balcony. Joel has a strong suspicion it wasn't entirely built by the school or the town. Especially since there's an axe and a pile of wood to the side. Music is spilling out into the street, the door open. There's a person standing in the doorway, with a pixie cut and blue hair.

"Joel! Is this the scientist?"

"Hey Fey. Yeah. He's a little drunk."

"Hello Fey." Carlos straightens, nervous enough to worry about his actions, and offers a hand. Fey takes it as she walks down the stone path to them.

"Pleasure. I'm Fey." Carlos notes somewhat foggily that the hand is cold, like metal. Odd.

"Have you met Cecil? I think he'd love you. He's very into science." Fey is still talking. Carlos is having a little bit of trouble focusing, but he notes that he feels pleasantly warm. Maybe that's why Fey's hand is so cold?

"Oh yes, I have. I met him on the beach outside Big Rico's. He was crying. Do you know why he was crying? It kind of upset me." Carlos is half certain there are things he is saying that he didn't really mean to, but he really does want the answers. Fey looks half chagrined and half pleased.

"Oh… you might want to ask him about that yourself. I don't know if he'd really want me talking about it."

Joel whispers to Carlos- _try asking someone drunker._

Carlos feels like he could object to that. It's rude to press people for information they don't really want to disclose. But then again, if it's not public information no one else will know. And he could just ask Cecil. But it might upset Cecil. He really didn't want to upset Cecil. Fey interrupts his thoughts by offering a hand, palm up.

"You want to dance?"

Carlos looks up, and says very somberly-

"I must refuse, my father warned me that a lot of grinding occurs at college parties and I don't want to get that close to anyone."

Joel was laughing, for some reason.

"I'm Ace. You have nothing to fear from me. Besides-" Fey smiles.

"This isn't that kind of place."

"Oh. Well, I'm an awful dancer, but if you like?" When fey didn't lower her hand he took it, and they walked in through a crowd- not so thick it was uncomfortable- but definitely a party.

The first song came on, a boyband blare. Carlos had already forgotten why he was here as he jumped up and down and attempted something like dancing. The music was coming through the floor, and Fey was laughing and showing him a few moves he could do drunk.

 _You look so perfect standing there in my American apparel underwear, and I know now, that i'm so down-_

He picked up the words after a couple verses, and after a free flow swigs of the flask he had an arm around Fey. They were laughing, Fey holding up an arm to wave it in time to the music. Joel joined them at some point, and they managed a group cluster of terrible dancing. Carlos was actually having a lot of fun. He was surprised- he didn't think he could enjoy anything but perfect experiments and communicating about his passions. Granted, he'd always loved talking to different people about their interests. Maybe he was a people person after all. But...new things. Like the fact that he _really_ liked panic at the disco. But not quite as much as Cecil, who, Carlos had just become aware, was standing on a table singing. Not just singing- _He was performing the song._ It was also worth noting that he was far drunker then Carlos was, evidenced by what happened next. He was moving the mike stand like a pro, and when he turned he looked straight at Carlos. Those eyes burned into his.

 _Are you worth your weight in gold?  
Cause you're behind my eyelids when I'm all alone _

_Hey, stranger, I want you to catch me like a cold._

Carlos flushed. He was leaned against the wall, temporarily out of steam.

 _I led the revolution in my bedroom and I set all the zippers free.  
We said, "No more war, no more clothes!  
Give me peace…_

Cecil looked dead at Carlos with a look that was almost divine

 _Oh kiss me-_

The way Cecil was moving was making Carlos a little dizzy. He was flushing, but when he returned the look Cecil had given him the singer's knees nearly gave out.

 _Oh I'd confess,_

 _I'd confess in a room where I'm blessed.  
But he didn't come and speak to me,_

Cecil put a hand over his heart, and pulled off his midnight blue sequin vest. His white shirt was sticking to him in a way that definitely had Carlos's attention.

 _Or put my heart at ease-  
And I believe that half the time  
I am a wolf among the sheep  
Gnawing at the wool over my eyes._

Cecil was quite the dancer, and the rest of the frat was roaring along. Fey and Joel were cheering along, but Carlos was too burned out to even react. He was- he was a lot of things. What had his papa told him about tequila? He vowed to forget it and took another swig. Things were starting to blur now. Cecil finished the song to a roar of applause and approached the group. He put his hand on Fey's shoulder and leaned closer to Carlos.  
"Helllo. I was wondering if you'd like to dance. Maybe. With me."

Carlos took Cecil's hand before he could change his mind. His face was red, but half of this place was same-sex dance parners, and the rest were a little uncertain and he wasn't too concerned about judgment. He was more concerned about Cecil. God, everything about Cecil. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he'd pass that line and not have to think about it tomorrow. In any case- he wanted to dance with Cecil, so he would. It was just a dance.

Well, it was more then a dance. Mostly because Cecil could foxtrot. Even drunk. Carlos wasn't so much dancing as being lifted and spun and actually he loved it, because Cecil was overdramatic and exaggerated his movements to every part of the song. It was easy to dance with Cecil- even if he didn't know what styles he was using, even when he dropped Carlos's hand to do a few step maneuver by himself. He just appreciated being able to watch- Cecil was so vibrant in galaxy leggings and a long white top with a black swirling message- _I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night._

He was almost disappointed when the music changed to something slower. But he found an exhausted Cecil collapsing into his arms, so not disappointed, even if he did nearly fall over. It was getting late. He should go home. He should take Cecil home. But-

He stared at Cecil. Looked him over. No bag. Nearly asleep on his shoulder, swaying slow.

Things were going together slow, but he looked at fey with a questioning expression, noting as he looked over that Joel was getting very cozy with a cocoa skinned "NVCR Intern" at least according to her shirt. Huh. He probably wouldn't be home tonight.

Fey was mouthing something. He concentrated.

 _Cecil won't go home._

 _What?_

Fey made a kind of desperate facial expression. Carlos turned his attention to the drunk and cuddly radio host.

"Hey, Cecil?"

"Yes, perfect Carlos?" Carlos's throat went dry and he as he struggled to say something. He was sobering up, he realized. He hadn't had anything since before the first song.

"Where do you live?"

"The couch in the basement on weeekkeends, and in the break room at the statiiiion."

Carlos made his decision very firmly. He knew that at minimum, Josie would loan out the dorm couches- which were plush and more comfortable then even the dorm beds- but tonight maybe he oughta just take him straight back. It made some kind of fuzzy sense. You shouldn't leave drunk people alone, even on nice couches. So Cecil could just stay a night in the taurus room and they could ensure that no one choked on their own vomit or died of alcohol poisoning.

"Cecil, do you wanna go home with me?"

Cecil looked up at him, mouth a perfect O of shock.

"Isn't that a little forward?"

Carlos blushed furiously.

"NO! Just to sleep, you're drunk and I'm drunk and I don't wanna be alone if I start getting sick and I don't want you to be if you are. It's the most scientific solution."

"Of course." did Cecil look disappointed? No of course he didn't. He appreciated science.

They made it back to the room without mishap, and once in it they were settled easily.

Well, after Cecil vomited on Carlos.

When Carlos returned from the shower he found Cecil very asleep in his bed, clearly pressed up against the wall to make room- his body and arm an accepting curve. Carlos smiled and climbed in, falling asleep quickly- but not too quickly to appreciate the feeling of Cecil's body just barely tucked up against his.


	5. FR-Zones

p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.1199998855591px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"When Carlos wakes, bleary and disoriented, his bed is empty. He figures he dreamed it all and reminds himself that new places give him nightmares, but there's a note next to his bed- A note with a flower he doesn't recognize the biology of and a few oddly colored muffins. The note is in a beautiful script, and readsbr /br /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.1199998855591px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Carlos-br /I am so sorry, I heard I got too drunk to go home by myself. I don't remember much but it was incredibly kind of you to look after me. I promise it will never happen again,on pain of bloodstone sacrificing myself to the dog park, because I hate to be a /br /But in thanks I do hope you like the muffins! sorry for not being around to bring you to breakfast as a thank you myself (Although I could just cremate myself in shame right now! Drinking to forget is one thing but it is utterly irresponsible to distract new students from their first night out by being a catastrophically horrendous train wreck!) but station management br /spanbr /There is a furiously angry crossed out section, then simplybr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.1199998855591px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"I need to be at the station today. I left Joel some local headache remedies if he needs them./spanbr /br /You have my soul in debt and unimaginable shame. br /Cecilbr /br /Carlos groaned, slamming his face into the letter. Stupid! Why didn't he leave Cecil a note? why couldn't Cecil have remembered- br /Carlos suddenly remembers his attempts at dancing. On second thought-br /but why did he think he was a burden? did someone-br /oh /Joel opens the door looking like he got hit by a car. When Carlos- distracted- says as much, the answer isbr /"Oh it was more of a golf cart. Is Cecil still here?"br /"No. Did you tell him anything about the party?"br /"No...? did someone?"br /Carlos hands him the /"Oh shit. Someone put quite the spin on that."br /Carlos took a deep breath and whistled it back /"Nevermind it. You mentioned science people...?"br /~br /br /At the lab they meet Rochelle, Dave, Kate, Leon, and Caroline. Carlos seems flummoxed by the amount of people and their apparent reverence in him, but he gets out of the shock of it quickly enough once Joel breaks out the charts and starts pointing out Nightvale phenomena spots thus far. He's also taken the liberty of hacking into the security camera system, which apparently has thermal vision. Carlos is about to argue that they should stay on the right side of the school rules- classes haven't even started yet- but then he sees the readings from the dog park and stops caring very / br /"Are those-?"br /"Beings shaped out of pure winter cold? yes. However don't get too excited." Kate steps in and drops the incidents reports books on the table. She pushes half moon glasses up her nose and flips open the /"To kill the thrill of discover a bit here- This is the death toll from the area now called 'the dog park'- formerly referred to as the "FR zone" by the students."br /"Which stands for?" Kate primly pushes her glasses up her nose and monotonesbr /"Fucking run."br /br /They're using a paintbrush and whiteboard ink to draw up charts of scientific areas of interest and possible fatality risk when Dave, who's been listening to the radio through his ipod, pulls out an /"So, do we do recon? or rescue missions?"br /"why?"br /"Guy from the radio is apparently in an FR area."br /Carlos is gone before anyone even realizes he's moving. Joel smiles ruefully at the /"Do you think we should map out those FR areas...?" asks Dave, a little confused. He's a psychologist. He doesn't like not understanding what's going /Caroline lights /"Can we correlate the stats from the book into map areas and come up with a rating scale for those?" ah, statistics. Nothing Joel is interested in, but necessary /Joel taps a wall /"Can we start with the radio station?"br /br /~br /br /Cecil made it out. Mostly. Actually, he's missing a little chunk of his pinky finger- but that was from oath swearing. That was before the scary parts. However, he is really not in any condition to be taking a nap on the sidewalk. The broadcast isn't in Old town- actually it's really not that close to much of anything. Except a very lovely stretch of beach. He could get there and pretend to be sunbathing until he can move his legs. But maybe the sidewalk is nice. it is a very nice sidewalk. And- those are very nice shoes. He looks up, taking in pants, the edge of a labcoat- He flushes, crimson and /"Carlos! what are you doing here? I really wish we'd stop meeting like this- with me in such a mess-" br /Carlos almost looks like that comment hurt but Cecil figures it can't have. No reason why! It was completely true. The sidewalk after fleeing his life- the party smashed out of his mind and needing rescuing- he feels pretty darn helpless. and really /"You're not a mess. Just a little scraped up. Come on, um, Josie wants to offer you a bed. She heard you were-um- sleeping in the station break room."br /Carlos does not mention that he is the one that told her. Seems like Cecil really doesn't remember any of the party, and he doesn't want to make him feel any worse. Carlos's guess about the guilt turns out to be right on the money as Cecil tries to insist that no- really- he doesn't need any help up. He was just...sunbathing. On the sidewalk at the bottom of the station steps. THat he had just fled in terror. And decided to sunbathe! Who DOESN'T post mortal terror sunbathe, really! it's a good habit, builds that vitamin D. D for destruction. Destruction and rejuvination! br /Carlos has nothing to say to any of that, but he does manage to coax Cecil to let him lift him off the ground, and keeps a stabilizing arm around him. He lets Cecil nervous ramble and Vitamins and their aid in helping the body and blood space wars as he guides him back to the bus to oldtown, and lets him keep talking all the way home. He's more then happy to listen./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.1199998855591px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.1199998855591px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.1199998855591px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Josie is not /It's not an anger particularly at either of the boys currently on her doorstep, or at station management. It's more about the phonecall Cecil was making as he left that morning, and the way he is currently protesting being looked /She sees more then people think she does, and she does not what is going on one little /So she does more then offer Cecil the couch, she gives him the empty room next to Carlos's and insists they join her for dorm breakfasts. She dutifully plays along with Cecil's apparent reluctance and insists on making the official move from his old dorm. But it is no part of the act when she lets Erika take over the cooking and puts a very firm hand on Cecil's /br /"You are not going back to that dorm, and you are not going back to that boy, so you might as well quit listening to him when he tries to put you down. Understand?"br /Carlos, across the table, nearly smashes his teacup with the strength in his hands, but plays along admirably when Cecil looks over to see if he's paying attention, and focuses a bemused expression on the contents of the cup. He is also dutifully not acknowledging the angels. Not just because of school rules. He's just not really in the mood to contemplate religious /Cecil looks back at /"Okay." He manages, his voice weak. Carlos's grip gets even tighter. Cecil has an announcer's voice. Not the kind of tone that shrinks in on itself, should NEVER sound like that. br /br /Josie smiles, partially to comfort Cecil and partially because the righteous anger radiating from the young scientist is a positive indication for things to come. She turns to Carlos, reaching gently out to pry the cup from his /"Carlos, why don't you take Cecil to the lab and check him for injuries? you know, the hospital can be such trouble, and students do gossip..." Carlos relaxes only the slightest bit, but in a rush the stress is replaced by /"My team may not be too happy with me-"br /"Nonsense. I'm sure they'll forgive you for running out. Shoo."br /Carlos and Cecil shoo. Josie sits back and smiles to herself. She could not keep Cecil safe once, but maybe she'll do better the second time around./p 


End file.
